1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a method for processing postal matter and a postal matter processing system which allow staggered postal matter processing and are suited for use with multiple carriers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Public, automatic franking units are already known wherein a weighing device is combined with a franking device (German OS 28 19 872). Such systems, however, do not yet have a multi-carrier capability. Mail to be sent abroad is already transported by at least two respective national public mail carriers. Future mail delivery will also be handled by private carriers who may potentially use their own logos and rather different regulations for franking than the public carriers. It is specifically private carriers who, will only be present locally in the establishment phase, and who will have to collaborate with public mail carriers.
An automatic unit for franking mail and also printing out documentation thereof is disclosed in German OS 24 30 413. U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,000, for example, also discloses that two printers be utilized for a direct printing of a bar code on the postal matter and a separate printing of a record thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,022 discloses an automatic postal device with a slot for postal items, a drive mechanism, weighing, stamping and sorting mechanism. Such postal devices require a large amount of floor space for the many containers for sorted mail and are complicated and expensive to operate. One of the containers is always full first, which then negatively influences the work of the entire postal device. When, however, the postal devices are emptied in short cycles, then the containers with sorted mail are filled to different degrees and must also be individually emptied although one container is nearly empty. The transport costs are proportional to the transport distance and inversely proportional to the quantity of mail. The sorted mail must, of course, be separately transported, which requires additional attention and exertions on the part of the carrier company. If some carriers make higher demands on the franking stamp imprint in the future, for example a security imprint with 2-D bar code, high-grade printers that are expensive to maintain must be utilized.
An automatic postal matter receiving system is disclosed in European Application 503 311 with a money card or customer card and with a standardized postal matter delivery with a transport stage that does not include either a device for weighing or for franking. The money card allows an immediate debiting of a postage fee that is derived on the basis of the selection of the standardized postal matter delivery. The postage calculation does not take the weight into consideration. The transport stage is unlocked after the postage calculation. The employment of separate storage containers is also necessary since a distinction between shipping types is no longer subsequently possible due to the absence of a franking imprint. A conventional postage fee memory in combination with a secured postal matter storage container is required in combination with the card reading unit. The container is emptied by an authorized person, who loads the data from the postage fee memory into a specific removal chip card. When the sender has been authorized with a specific customer card when the postal matter is received, the card allows the customer account to be charged with the incurred fees in a central accounting location.
The remaining method up to the distribution of the unfranked mail is not disclosed in European Application 503 311, however, it can be assumed that the carrier also undertakes the mail distribution. If a public carrier were engaged for the further transport and for the distribution of postal matters, then the stipulations of this carrier for identifying or franking mail as well as for debiting would have to be adhered to. Since, however, no franking ensues, the stipulations of, for example, the Deutsche Post AG (or the USPS) are not adhered to. As a rule, postal matter, for example letters to be sent abroad, must at least be stamped with an imprint. The elimination of a franking imprint harbors further disadvantages such as problems of data documentation, a risk of fraud due to the introduction of a plurality of unpaid or overweight pieces of mail, particularly given the standard delivery of large-format postal matter.